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Recommended Items
Spells:
Flash
Ignite
Items
Ability Order
Assassin's Mark (PASSIVE)
Akali Passive Ability
Introduction

Alrighty, here goes! Remember: play well and have fun!
Every champion has their strengths and their weaknesses.
Akali is an AP/partly AD assassin that is most viable in the mid lane. Let's have a look at her pros and cons.
+ Very good at escaping and juking thanks to
Twilight Shroud
+ Able to assassinate enemies before they even know what hit them
+ Can turn the tide of a match
+ Spell vamp passive (
Twin Disciplines) that can be crucial to winning fights if they turn awry
+ The bonus magic damage from
Twin Disciplines also affects turrets, allowing you to push better than many other AP champions
Rylai's Crystal Scepter. Once the enemy team learns to focus you, your job becomes a lot harder
- Melee champion, meaning that
Akali has to be in the thick of a fight to be reaching her full potential
- In great danger once the enemy team busts out the CC
- No crowd control aside from a fairly low percentage slow from
Twilight Shroud and
Rylai's Crystal Scepter
- Relies heavily on stealth to escape, so
Oracle's Elixir or a
Vision Ward can impede on her escape

Pros:
+ Very good at escaping and juking thanks to

+ Able to assassinate enemies before they even know what hit them
+ Can turn the tide of a match
+ Spell vamp passive (

+ The bonus magic damage from

Cons:

- Melee champion, meaning that

- In great danger once the enemy team busts out the CC
- No crowd control aside from a fairly low percentage slow from


- Relies heavily on stealth to escape, so





These runes give






Seals specialise in physical defense. On a normal AP carry, I would be taking Greater Seal of Replenishment x9 for the mana regen, but since




14.8 ability power early game from runes and



Make that 29.65 AP. Double yes please. Such a high starting AP not only allows for her abilities to pack that extra punch, but it also activates the first half of her passive,

Offense:
-
Brute Force
allows me to free up a quintessence slot and replace what would have been an AD quint with a
Greater Quintessence of Ability Power. It also allows me to have those 5 or more points to continue down the Offense tree.
-
Mental Force
gives extra AP. Always helpful on any AP.
-
Alacrity
isn't really all that necessary, but I wanted to get to
Weapon Expertise
.
-
Sorcery is more useful than
Alacrity
, but again I was just trying to reach the penetration mastery:
Arcane Knowledge
.
-
Demolitionist
is great for helping to push turrets. Again, if you're not into pushing turrets, just get rid of it and put it somewhere else.
-
Weapon Expertise
is great for that extra penetration for your
Lich Bane and your basic attacks in general.
-
Arcane Knowledge
is a really great mastery that gives you extra magic penetration. Great for any AP champion.
-
Sunder
is, again, just for that helpful bit of armour penetration for
Lich Bane and her basic attacks.
-
Archmage
is probably one of the best masteries on this tree. 5% AP increase is like.. 1/6th of a
Rabadon's Deathcap... At level 1!
-
Executioner
sums up what your role is: dishing out damage to enemies that are about to die. This is great for when you're called in as the janitor for when your team only just loses that team fight.
Defense:
-
Resistance
is just for the extra defense in mid lane, where you will almost always be facing an enemy AP carry. A little bit of reduction could just give you that upper hand.
Utility:
-
Summoner's Insight
is chosen because I love
Flash. Quite simple.
Flash can never be off cooldown fast enough.
-


-

-


-



-

-


-

-


-


-

Defense:
-

Utility:
-



My Picks:












This tactic can prove as very deadly harassment that can take place in seconds, without the enemy knowing what is going on. Because of the quick burst->escape technique, this is also viable amongst groups of enemies to weaken them quickly or initiate a team fight, although I wouldn't recommend this unless you are quite confident that you can escape.



Other Viable Picks:

Because of









Useful for team fights and gaining the upper hand on your opponent in a 1v1 assassination. Also good for slowing if you don't have any stacks on


Since


Ehhhhh.... I dunno...

I've not really tried jungle





You're strong enough already. The extra AP and attack speed could prove useful in pushing turrets, but in terms of a fight: you're either going to win by a mile or get your face stomped. It's very rare that you win by a tiny percentage of health.

I wouldn't bother. You're mainly focusing on assassinating a target, then leaving. Spell vamp and life steal give enough sustain. There are other better picks.
Don't Even Think About It:

Leave this to the support. You don't have any ability that can go further than your vision, so it's useless for personal use.

You can push just fine with your



Read the description of this one. I think that's enough said.

If your team is alive, then it's not vital that you come back immediately. If your team is dead, you're just going to get your face stomped by the entire enemy team. Not really a fan of a spell that focuses on dying either.

Ganks. What more can I say?



This item allows you to act as an initiator for your team against the squishier members of the enemy. Your enemy will almost always be slowed for 2 seconds at a time. Why? Because




Health on


Now, I know you think I'm crazy for choosing to actually use a recommended item in my build, but it works. Trust me. If your team is mediocre at best and you're left to carry yourself and the rest of their sorry butts to victory, then this item works miracles. The idea behind this item is that it gives you the attack speed, damage and bonus magic damage to take down turrets quickly. While your team defends, you can creep through the jungle, escaping with






Even though this item has an awesome passive that gives a nice slow/chunk of damage, I rarely get time to use it. The





9 times out of 10, you won't get this item. Not because it's a bad choice, but because you've either won through force or forfeit.
However, when you do grab your Rabby-Dabby's, sit back and laugh as their face melts twice as quickly than it was before.
Justification for the Item Sequence:




Boots + 3 is a great starting place. You should already have the 8% spell vamp from runes/masteries, so when you combine that with the potions, you're able to stay in lane quite a while. The boots also help you run in and out to take minions quickly.

Ability power is always helpful and you can't go wrong with a bit more spell vamp.

Adds to the sustain and deters attackers early game. Early game tankiness is great.
The rest is fairly simple. I can't stress enough that it helps a lot to get

Alternate Item Choices
I really wanted to include a bunch of items here, but I truly believe that every item I've included is what's best for


Provides you with the extra tankiness and deters your enemies from attacking you. Along with the extra resistances, this gives you a second chance to wreak havoc on your enemies. If your team has taken most of the remaining enemies out before you get back up, you could even finish them off and secure a win.

This would probably replace the

It is important that youstart with


The second skill you want to take is her E:


Take

Obviously you take your ultimate,

Skill priority:




Here's a rundown of

Passive:
Twin Disciplines

This is a great passive that allows

The second half of the passive allows you to have a nice bit of spell vamp, possibly before the game even starts (like with my build). Very helpful for sustain.
Q:
Mark of the Assassin

This is

On the other hand, it never stops once thrown. It's always funny when someone like




W:
Twilight Shroud

This is honestly one of the best things about


You also maintain the stealth of the shroud for approximately 0.5 seconds after you leave it, so with strategic placement you can escape and juke an entire enemy team. Sometimes they won't even have a clue where you've gone. Casting this out in the open is only helpful when you have no other option but to fight.
E:
Crescent Slash

AoE farm for the win. You won't be one hitting minion waves with this until very late game, but due to its short cooldown, you don't really need to. Good for early game farming and harassment at the same time when you hide in a

This ability also acts as a great source of health when you have your passive spell vamp combined with a


R (Ultimate):
Shadow Dance

This ability is what makes



I'll break this section up into three parts and break down each section. These are:
Since you don't have your best ability for fights,
Shadow Dance, you can't be too aggressive (unless your opponent is really bad). Stay back and farm using quick bursts from
Mark of the Assassin and basic attacks/
Crescent Slash.
Twilight Shroud can also be helpful in farming, because you can throw it in the middle of the fight and pull out some quick AoE bursts on minions before the enemy has a chance to realise that you're right next to them. Also works well for quick pokes on the enemy.
If your enemy is still farming anywhere away from their turret once you ding 6, then either their jungler is about to gank you (which can be easily escaped with
Twilight Shroud), or they aren't... well... the brightest of players.
With
Shadow Dance, you can dive the enemy and pull off tons of damage before they even realise what hit them. I recommend waiting for the second or third stack of
Shadow Dance to be built up if they're still on full health.
If you achieve this kill, you might be a little short on health with nothing but a little bit of spell vamp to sustain yourself. This is when you go back and grab your
Hextech Revolver (and maybe even
Mobility Boots).
Warning: Leaving your lane unattended while your enemy is still there is risky, as mid is left almost exclusively up to you in the early game. Don't lose that turret.
This is also the level range that you can pick up kills from other lanes or counter jungle. If you have plenty of health after your mid lane kill, move on to top or bot. If not, just recall and head to another lane with your flashy new
Hextech Revolver and pick up a kill or five before returning to mid.
By now you'll probably just be bursting down your mid lane opponent soon after they return from their last beating and then moving on to other lanes thanks to your
Mobility Boots to pick up some more kills. Your farm now should consist of a quick clearance of mid lane minions and any jungle along the way that your jungler won't miss. Bonus points if you take theirs.
Level Range: 1-5
Since you don't have your best ability for fights,




Level Range: 6-10
If your enemy is still farming anywhere away from their turret once you ding 6, then either their jungler is about to gank you (which can be easily escaped with

With


If you achieve this kill, you might be a little short on health with nothing but a little bit of spell vamp to sustain yourself. This is when you go back and grab your


Warning: Leaving your lane unattended while your enemy is still there is risky, as mid is left almost exclusively up to you in the early game. Don't lose that turret.
This is also the level range that you can pick up kills from other lanes or counter jungle. If you have plenty of health after your mid lane kill, move on to top or bot. If not, just recall and head to another lane with your flashy new

Level Range: 11-18
By now you'll probably just be bursting down your mid lane opponent soon after they return from their last beating and then moving on to other lanes thanks to your

Even though
Akali is an assassin and operates quite well picking off enemies in quick bursts, teamwork is always key to a good game. I know I mentioned earlier that I've carried teams almost single handedly with this build, but that was a dire situation that called for dire measures.
Remember that teamwork is important, especially because you're so squishy. I am usually either the first or the last one into a team fight, and that is completely intentional.
I am first into a fight when I know I can deal significant damage and that I am safe for an escape if needed. I also account for the fact that even though I may not die to the enemy team in this fight, I can't take them out by myself. This is where the team work comes in and your friends pick up the kills.
Ignite may help you to pick up a kill, even if you leave early. Keep in mind that you should never take on the entire enemy team alone. Even if they are under fed, they will likely have enough crowd control and combined damage to take you down pretty quickly. More enemies = more abilities to be used against you. 5
Ignites with a bit of basic attacking would finish you off.
The more common situation you'll find yourself in is when you are last into the fight, which will happen when you have a tank in a 3-5 vs 3-5 team fight. It is important that you wait for the tank to initiate. Once the tank has initiated and likely had the entire enemy team knocked up in the air or taunted, you wait for the rest of your team to begin the fight. As soon as the team fight really begins, make sure you place a
Twilight Shroud, for the buff and for personal stealth. Once the enemy team is busy, it is your cue you
Shadow Dance in and deal as much damage as you can. Focus the AD carry and other squishy, high damage dealers. By rushing in last, the enemy team is less likely to focus you, or, if they do, then you are at least taking damage away from other team mates so they can dish out more. Remember, you can always stand still and disappear into your
Twilight Shroud.

Remember that teamwork is important, especially because you're so squishy. I am usually either the first or the last one into a team fight, and that is completely intentional.
I am first into a fight when I know I can deal significant damage and that I am safe for an escape if needed. I also account for the fact that even though I may not die to the enemy team in this fight, I can't take them out by myself. This is where the team work comes in and your friends pick up the kills.


The more common situation you'll find yourself in is when you are last into the fight, which will happen when you have a tank in a 3-5 vs 3-5 team fight. It is important that you wait for the tank to initiate. Once the tank has initiated and likely had the entire enemy team knocked up in the air or taunted, you wait for the rest of your team to begin the fight. As soon as the team fight really begins, make sure you place a





You probably have an idea of how
Akali is played by now, but I'll give a rundown of some familiar scenarios that I encounter frequently. I'll also include some of the more amazing ones that I've partaken in.
Your typical gameplay with
Akali will consist of farming and harassing anyone who steps too far out away from protection by applying
Mark of the Assassin, dashing in with
Shadow Dance and then landing a basic attack with your
Crescent Slash.
If things escalate a little more, then you'll probably just be repeating that combo and chasing whenever the target manages to get away. Too easy gg.
Akali is able to gank a lot, unless she's getting heavily harassed in mid. You can make it to other lanes very quickly once you have your
Mobility Boots. Look for lanes that need a gank (one or both team mates are gone from the lane/the team mates in that lane are getting dominated) or are simply open to one. It's very satisfying to make a quick dash from mid before the enemy can call "mia" (leave a
Twilight Shroud if they're still there to make them think you're still in mid) and then appear in bot lane against the enemy AD carry and Support who have over extended because they've gotten cocky.
Your ganks should focus on heading off the enemy, reaching them with
Shadow Dance, placing
Twilight Shroud in front of them so they can't escape as easily, and then finishing them off with bursts from
Mark of the Assassin and
Crescent Slash. The
Twilight Shroud also gives you the upper hand thanks to its buff, just in case the fight turns on you and your opponent decides to attempt to do a trade off.
Make use of your shroud and your environment. It helps the know the abilities of enemy champions too.

Generic Gameplay:
Your typical gameplay with




If things escalate a little more, then you'll probably just be repeating that combo and chasing whenever the target manages to get away. Too easy gg.
Ganking Gameplay:



Your ganks should focus on heading off the enemy, reaching them with





Make use of your shroud and your environment. It helps the know the abilities of enemy champions too.
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